Anatomy, M.S., Ph.D.

Saint Louis University’s graduate anatomy programs offers advanced training on the
structure of the human body and prepares you for a career in medicine or academics.

About the Program

Offered through Saint Louis University's Center for Anatomical Science and Education, SLU’s graduate programs in anatomy can assist in M.D. or Ph.D. postdoctoral training
and to stimulate your interest in research. You will advance the frontiers of your
knowledge and technical expertise through active participation in a variety of research
projects.

CASE has been an established academic center providing expert anatomical education
for more than 100 years. Graduate students in SLU’s anatomy program perform research
projects by working with a faculty mentor whose research interests match their own.
Doctoral students are expected to publish and present a minimum of two research projects.
The program also offers a concentration in neurobiology for Ph.D. students that can
help prepare you for a career in neuroscience-related areas.

Research

SLU’s Center for Anatomical Science and Education faculty are engaged in multidisciplinary
research of biological structure and function ranging from ultrastructural to gross
anatomical levels. Clinically relevant anatomy and neurobiology is a major interest.
Other research interests include cell biology and pathobiology.

Teaching faculty and mentors are drawn from a select group of scientists and clinicians
at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine. The faculty are united by their
extensive experience and teaching and training young scientists, medical students
and physicians-in-training.

Students receive training from a diverse team of award-winning clinical anatomists
dedicated to teaching and training.

Students have the opportunity for research projects with a dedicated scientific support
staff to assist them.

Many students present their research at local and national scientific conferences.

Students pursuing a master’s degree in anatomy at SLU can choose to complete either
a thesis or a project.

Thesis Option

The thesis option provides advanced training in anatomy and is a good option if you
are interested in teaching fundamental courses in anatomy or if your main interests
are in related fields such as medicine or the allied health professions. It also serves
as an introduction to biomedical research. A total of 30 credit hours, including six
hours of thesis research, are required for graduation.

Qualifying Examination and Defense

Upon completion of the core curriculum and Basic Research Techniques in Anatomy, the
student must register for 4-6 hours of Thesis Research. The thesis research project
generally takes 2-3 academic semesters after the research proposal has been approved.
Initially, the student must identify a research project under the guidance of a CASE
faculty member.

An M.S. (thesis) committee will then be formed as the student prepares their research proposal. A three member M.S. (thesis) committee, chaired by the student’s primary adviser,
will be appointed by the director of the anatomy graduate program. The committee must
include at least two members of the CASE anatomy graduate faculty. A third member
of the committee can be appointed by the graduate program director if they are graduate
faculty in other SLU departments or at another university. It is the decision of the
anatomy graduate program director to accept the adviser’s recommendation and to identify
the final member of the committee.

A thesis must be completed and approved by the faculty adviser and M.S. (thesis) committee.
The thesis should follow the formatting guidelines issued by the Office of Graduate
Education.

Completion of the thesis research project follows: writing of the thesis, application
for advancement to candidacy and the thesis defense. It shall be the responsibility
of the student to initiate candidacy by filling out a candidacy form through Office of Graduate Education. The completed form must be returned by the deadline stated in the graduate education
calendar of deadlines. Once the completed candidacy form has been processed by the
Office of Graduate Education, the thesis committee chair will receive a ballot for
the oral defense of the thesis. The ballot is distributed to the other committee members
by the thesis committee chair when they vote on the oral defense. Once the ballots
are completed, signed and sealed, it is the committee chairperson's responsibility
to deliver the ballots to the Office of Graduate Education immediately following the
defense.

The defense of the thesis provides an opportunity for the student to formally present
their findings to their committee, the faculty and students in CASE, and to any family
member or anyone from the general public wishing to attend.

Two weeks before the thesis defense, an electronic and print announcement of the date,
time, location and title of the defense will be publicized to all members of CASE.
A final draft of the student’s thesis must be made available in the anatomy conference
room for faculty and students to review at least seven working days prior to the defense.

The thesis defense is two parts. First, the student will make an oral, PowerPoint
presentation of no longer than 45 minutes duration where they present their research.
Following the presentation, questions from the collective audience will be encouraged.
Once all questions have been satisfactorily answered by the student, the audience
is excused and the closed, or executive, part of the defense takes places with only
the student and their committee present. The thesis committee can ask detailed questions
and expect the student to demonstrate thorough knowledge of their project and related
research. Questions on general topics in anatomy, unrelated to their research, may
also be asked. Following all questioning, the student is excused from the room and
the committee members, without discussion, complete the defense ballot.

Project Option

The project option is appropriate if you want to teach human anatomy structure and
function, or if you are undecided about a career in the health professions and want
to improve your academic background before applying to professional schools. It provides
training in anatomy with a capstone project. A total of 30 credit hours is necessary
to complete the degree.

Qualifying Examination and Defense

Upon completion of the core curriculum, the student must identify an independent study
project under the guidance of a CASE faculty adviser for the required Master's Project
(ANAT-5960, 2-4 credit hours) course.

The Master's Project course is intended to foster students' intellectual development
by working independently with a faculty adviser and an M.S. (project) committee. It
is hoped that a student will develop the capacity to plan and execute a project and
will acquire competence and critical writing skills.

The M.S. (project) committee will be formed as the student prepares the project proposal.
A three member M.S. (project) committee, chaired by the student’s primary adviser,
will be recommended to the director of the anatomy graduate program for approval.
The committee must include at least two members of the CASE anatomy graduate faculty.

The initial responsibility of the M.S. (project) committee is to determine the feasibility
of the project and its proposal, and to permit the student to proceed only after such
determination has been made. The committee and director of the anatomy graduate program
shall sign off on the student's proposal and a copy should be kept in the student's
file in the CASE office. The signing of this document signifies that the student has
permission to proceed with the study as outlined in the proposal.

The M.S. (project) committee will meet regularly with the student and adviser and
is responsible for reviewing the ongoing project and manuscript drafts, and to provide
feedback in a timely manner.

A manuscript of the project, in the form of a treatise, must be completed and approved
by the faculty adviser and M.S. (project) committee. The treatise is a critical analysis
of the project and is expected to demonstrate mastery of the material using critical
thinking skills. The manuscript should follow the formatting guidelines issued by
the Office of Graduate Education.

As the project and manuscript near their completion, a tentative date to complete
the oral examination will be scheduled, no less than two weeks in advance, by the
faculty adviser and approved by the M.S. (project) committee. The last day to complete
the final oral examination will be identified by the graduate education calendar of
deadlines and will be strictly enforced.

Before the oral examination is officially scheduled to take place, the student's Master's
Project course project must be completed and approved by the student's faculty advisor
and M.S. (project) committee.

Two weeks before the thesis defense, an electronic and print announcement of the date,
time, location and title of the defense will be publicized to all members of CASE.
A final draft of the student’s thesis must be made available in the anatomy conference
toom for faculty and students to review at least seven working days prior to the defense.

The oral examination will consist of a formal presentation of the student project
to the M.S. (project) committee, the faculty and students in CASE, and to any family
member or anyone from the general public wishing to attend. After the presentation,
the committee will meet with the student privately to ask any questions relating to
the project and manuscript, and of the student's knowledge of anatomy. After the private
meeting, the student will be asked to leave the room as the committee votes on the
oral examination performance by filling out the ballot issued by the Office of Graduate
Education. Once the ballot is completed, signed and sealed it is the committee chairperson's
responsibility to deliver the ballot to the Office of Graduate Education immediately
following the oral examination.

SLU’s doctoral degree in anatomy provides training in clinical human anatomy and independent
research for students interested in teaching and research at the university level.
Your dissertation research will be related to the Center for Anatomical Science and
Education’s current research focus. These can include clinically relevant topics in
neurobiology, pathology, and/or biological structure and function. A total of 48 credit hours (36 hours of coursework and 12 hours of dissertation research)
are required for graduation. It typically takes five years to complete this program.
Students can apply for competitive teaching assistantships for clinical anatomy and
neuroscience courses and predoctoral fellowships.

Qualifying Examination and Defense

After completing the core curriculum, Basic Research Techniques in Anatomy and Principles
of Biostatistics, the student must prepare for and successfully pass the doctoral
qualifying examination.

Doctoral Qualifying Examination

The qualifying exam is a written examination that is designed to test the student’s
fundamental knowledge of human structure and function, critical analysis and thinking,
and design of an independent research proposal. An ad hoc exam committee will be constituted
by the director of the anatomy graduate program and include five members of the graduate
faculty, four of which shall be anatomists. The program director or associate director
shall chair the committee. The written test shall occur over a five-day period (excluding
weekends). The committee will request the faculty to submit questions on: material
covered in any of the coursework completed by the student to date, research papers
or reviews that will be provided to the student, and/or philosophical matters related
to the history of anatomy and medicine or national or world events that impact medical
education and biomedical research. The committee will review the submitted questions
and questions will be selected or created by the committee to ensure the questions
are fair and appropriate, that they test the student’s knowledge base for areas of
anatomy (gross anatomy, neuroanatomy, histology and embryology), and that they help
evaluate the problem-solving skills of the student. Failing the qualifying exam will
result in the student being recommended to being dropped from the Ph.D. program. In
this case, the director of the anatomy graduate program can elect to offer the failed
student the option of completing a terminal master’s degree.

Once the student has passed the doctoral qualifying examination, the student must
register for Dissertation Research. A minimum of 12 hours is required for degree completion
and typically occurs over 2-3 academic years. Initially, the student must identify
a research project under the guidance of a faculty member. A Ph.D. dissertation committee
will then be formed as the student prepares their research proposal.

A three-member Ph.D. dissertation committee, chaired by the student’s primary adviser,
will be appointed by the director of the anatomy graduate program. The committee must
include at least two members of the anatomy graduate faculty. A third member of the
committee can be appointed by the graduate program director if they are graduate faculty
in other SLU departments or at another university. It is the decision of the anatomy
graduate program director to accept the adviser’s recommendation and to identify the
final member of the committee. Once the proposal has been approved by the Ph.D. dissertation
committee it is then submitted to the Office of Graduate Education.

Doctoral Oral Qualifying Examination

The oral qualifying exam will be scheduled after the student has submitted a detailed
dissertation research proposal, conducted preliminary experiments to substantiate
the proposal and the dissertation advisory committee formed. The committee will consist
of five members of the graduate faculty and will be approved by program director.
The oral exam will be public and designed to test the student’s fundamental knowledge
of their proposed studies, background for the studies, and critical analysis and thinking.

Prior to the doctoral student’s request for consideration for advancement to candidacy,
submission of their research proposal, formation of their research committee, initiation
of the major components of their proposed doctoral research project, and registration
for any research hours, the student must have completed most of their required core
or elective coursework and successfully passed their preliminary/written qualifying
exam.

Advancement to Candidacy

Completion of the dissertation research project entails the following: writing of
the thesis, application for advancement to candidacy and the dissertation defense.
It shall be the responsibility of the student to initiate their candidacy by filling
out a candidacy form through the Office of Graduate Education. The completed form must be returned by the deadline stated in the graduate education
calendar of deadlines. Once the completed candidacy form has been processed by the
Office of Graduate Education, the thesis committee chair will receive ballots for
the oral defense of the thesis. The ballots are distributed to the other committee
members by the thesis committee chair when they vote on the oral defense. Once the
ballots are completed, signed and sealed, it is the committee chairperson's responsibility
to deliver the ballots to the Office of Graduate Education immediately following the
defense.

Dissertation Defense

The defense of the dissertation provides an opportunity for the student to formally
present their findings to their committee, the faculty and students in CASE, and to
any family member or anyone from the general public wishing to attend. Two weeks before
the dissertation defense, an electronic and print announcement of the date, time,
location and title of the defense will be publicized to all members of CASE. A final
draft of the student’s dissertation must be placed in the anatomy conference room
for faculty and students to review at least seven working days prior to the defense.
The dissertation defense is two parts. First, the student will make an oral, PowerPoint
presentation of no longer than 45 minutes duration where they present their research.
Following the presentation, questions from the collective audience will be encouraged.
Once all questions have been satisfactorily answered by the student, the audience
is excused and the closed, or executive, part of the defense takes place with only
the student and their committee present. The dissertation committee can ask detailed
questions and expect the student to demonstrate thorough knowledge of their project
and related research. Questions on general topics in anatomy, unrelated to their research,
may also be asked. Following all questioning, the student is excused from the room
and the committee members, without discussion, complete the defense ballot.

Applicant Criteria

Applicants are admitted on a competitive basis and must have a B.S. or B.A. degree
from an accredited U.S. college or university with a minimum overall GPA of 3.0 and/or
science GPA of 2.8. In addition, applicants must have either a minimum combined MCAT
score of 495 or a GRE general test score at the 40th percentile.